Box Score CARROLLTON, Ga. - West Georgia finished the pre-conference schedule on Thursday evening at the Woodruff Center in Atlanta, falling in the third five-set match of the year by a final of 3-2 to the NCAA Division III 6th-ranked Emory Eagles.
It was the third five-set match that the Wolves have played in this season, with Thursday night's loss being the first in a five-set match on the year. The loss drops West Georgia to 6-3 on the year as the Wolves head into Gulf South Conference play on Tuesday evening at The Coliseum.
Emory 27, West Georgia 25
The Wolves continued with the momentum from the weekend in the early going of the first set, opening up a 5-2 lead in the early going after a service ace from Kelli Kasier to open the match. The Wolves kept the lead at three points in the race to 15, leading 15-12 at that point. West Georgia pushed through to 20, leading 20-16 as we moved into the later part of the set. The Wolves held a tight lead, but a kill from Emory off of the UWG block made it 22-21, forcing head coach Kara Hellman to call timeout.
The Eagles caught the Wolves a 23-23 and the first set was a back-and-forth affair for the rest of the way. Emory took a lead on a service error from the Wolves at 26-25, then a block from the Eagles ended the first set at 27-25.
Tierra White led UWG with six kills in the set followed by
Emilee Harris with four.
West Georgia 25, Emory 22
The momentum of a nationally ranked team on their home floor after an opening set win was very strong on the side of Emory in the second set. The Eagles rode that wave early, taking an 11-7 lead. West Georgia clawed their way back into contention, taking the lead on a kill from
Kaylyn Buchanan to give the Wolves a 20-18 advantage. West Georgia continued to push, moving to set point at 24-21, forcing an Emory timeout. Following a point from the Eagles,
Emilee Harris put the final point away with a kill to give the Wolves a 25-22 victory and a 1-1 tie in the match.
Emory 25, West Georgia 23
Tierra White flexed her muscle early in the third set with three kills in the first five points for the Wolves, leading UWG to a 10-7 lead early. Emory returned fire, fighting back to tie the set at 15-15, then scoring three-straight to take an 18-15 lead. At that point, things went back-and-forth for the next 10 points, but Emory took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-23 lead.
West Georgia 25, Emory 14
The two teams were evenly matched early in the fourth set from the Woodruff Center until White took over with the score tied at 9-9. The sophomore had a pair of kills and a block with
Ainsley Schultz to give the Wolves a 14-9 lead at the midpoint of the set. The Wolves stepped on the gas at that point, pushing the lead out to the biggest advantage of the entire match at 18-10. Harris was huge in the set for the Wolves with five kills, giving her 19, which was already her career-high. UWG cruised with a 7-4 run over the final 11 points to force a 5th set with a 25-14 victory.
Emory 15, West Georgia 11
Emory came out firing in the 5th set, taking a 6-2 lead early.
Kaylyn Buchanan stopped the run with a kill, but Emory maintained the lead in the early part of the set. The Wolves pulled to within one three times in the first 10 points of the set, but Emory won the race to 10, leading 10-8 at that point. After the next point from the Eagles, the Wolves called timeout to settle things down. West Georgia cut the Emory lead to 13-11, but the Eagles scored the final two points of the match to take the victory.
UWG Leaders
White and Harris each set personal bests in kills in the match, with White leading all hitters with 22 kills and Harris following that with 21.
Ainsley Schultz, playing as the full-time setter for the first time this season, had 50 assists in the match, leading the Wolves to a .256 hitting percentage, the top hitting numbers of the year for the Wolves. On the defensive side, White, Buchanan, and Frazee had three blocks to lead the Wolves at the net.
Sydney Blackmon led the back line with 15 digs.
